[Diagnosis of infectious anemia in horses using the Coggins test]

Abstract

Coggins' immune diffusion test was modified, and was applied as a screening one in the study of the epizootic status. The positive reactions were characterized by the production of a precipitation line between the antigen and the respective serum that was tested. The appearance of such a line was associated with that formed with the use of the positive control serum, pointing to a reaction of identity. With the weakly positive reactions the ends of the precipitin lines, formed with the use of the positive control serum, were found to deviate slightly toward the site where the antigen had been placed. The specificity of the test was confirmed through biological experiments and clinical, morphological, and hematological investigations.